The Loving Dead, by Amelia Beamer (Nightshades Books; $14.95). In Beamer's first novel, the undead uprising finally comes to our own East Bay. When their house party in the Oakland Hills is interrupted by a couple of flesh-chomping zombies, Trader Joe's co-workers Kate and Michael don't really have the presence of mind to engage the threat effectively. "The Loving Dead" is funny, profane and more than a little bit squicky, a worthwhile and perceptive addition to a literary fad that won't seem to lie down and stay dead.

Not Less Than Gods, by Kage Baker (Tor; $31). Set in the universe of "The Company" but dealing with events peripheral to the series' major arc, this new installment follows 19th century adventurer Edward Bell-Fairfax as he learns spycraft in London, the Holy Land and Russia. Bell-Fairfax gradually realizes that he is some kind of freak of nature, manipulated since birth so that his nearly superhuman talents can be used to alter history. "Not Less Than Gods" is reminder of how special Baker's talent was and how much the genre has lost with her death in January.

The Passage, by Justin Cronin (Ballantine Books; $27). Cronin devises a new wrinkle for the End of the World, mixing viruses and vampires and then taking a sharp turn into "Salem's Lot Meets Lonesome Dove" territory. He deftly choreographs a couple of big, cinematic set pieces, but knows how to orchestrate the small, character-shaping moments. He also wisely keeps his vampires under wraps, for the most part, revealing them only when the stakes are at the highest.

Planetary: Spacetime Archaeology, by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday (Wildstorm/DC Comics; $24.99). The comics saga begun in 1999 by writer Ellis and artist Cassaday reaches its climax in this volume. Three Planetary team members - Elijah Frost, a century-old man able to freeze objects around him; Jakita Wagner, a beautiful woman with super strength and agility; and The Drummer, who can communicate with machines - play the endgame of their battle against The Four, mutated astronauts who would keep humankind in the dark about science's greatest discoveries.

Horns, by Joe Hill (William Morrow; 25.99). Ig Perrish awakens from a night of drinking and debauchery to find that two boney protuberances have sprouted from his skull. No one else seems able to perceive these satanic horns, but everyone he meets seems to want to confess their basest desires to him. "Horns" is a sophomore effort to be proud of, a fresh, tough-minded take on what it means to make a deal with the devil and your own worst nature.

Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor; $24.99). Kowal presents a tale of romance in Regency England with just a sprinkling of fantasy. Able to pull "glamour" out of the ether and create intricate tableaux that trick the eye and delight the mind, Jane Ellsworth yearns for true love but believes herself to be too old and too plain to catch any bachelor's eye. This low-key novel succeeds through understated humor and sprightly prose, rather than through absurd juxtapositions of the historical and the supernatural.

75 Years of DC Comics, by Paul Levitz (Taschen; $200). This history of the comics company that brought the world Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a whole host of costumed crusaders benefits from state-of-the-art printing that makes the full-color mayhem pop. Levitz, until recently president and publisher of DC, provides a thorough chronicle of the characters, creators and pop-culture trends that shaped the company, but it's the gorgeous design that makes this 18-pound, three-figure volume worth splurging on and lugging around.

Kraken, by China Miéville (Del Rey; $26). Curator Billy Harrow is as shocked as anyone when a preserved specimen of an adult Architeuthis dux, preserved in a giant bottle, disappears from the Natural History Museum. Mysterious, violent and occult forces believe Billy had something to do with the heist, and they want possession of the squid, to use in either hastening or preventing the end of the world.

Expiration Date, by Duane Swierczynski (Minotaur; $13.99 paperback). Out of a job and at loose ends, journalist Mickey Wade moves into the apartment of his currently comatose grandfather. After he takes what he believes to be aspirin from a bottle in the bathroom, he wakes up to find himself back in 1972. The author of "The Wheelman" devises an intriguing time-slip thriller reminiscent of the television series "Life on Mars." This short novel provides plenty of plot twists and turns in a deftly realized Philadelphia setting.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu (Pantheon; $24). This slippery novel, straddling genres, is filled with stylistic tricks and narrative paradoxes, not all of them successful. The narrator, one Charles Yu, works as a time machine technician, fixing the vehicles that take tourists to places they think they want to go. His only companions are TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem and Fred, a notional canine. By the time Yu shoots a future version of himself emerging from the time machine, the reader should be ready for just about anything.